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Kensu
Kensu, a city located in northeast Kebine, primarily subsists off of being a central trading hub for smaller nearby towns, and it's close proximity to quarries and mines, both of which lend to its insanely wealthy status. One of the larger towns in the empire of Kebine, the town is surrounded by stone walls and has two stone golems standing by each gate, guarding the city from ne'er-do-wells. The city has a rich history, with the church of Godthalanos deeply intertwined in its governance of the people. While at one point the inquisition did come through and murder most of the corrupted government, its good now, and is ruled by the local religious ruler, Ayla Enran. History Lost Origins Kensu was founded prior to the Thanatos Event, and while the exact age of the city is unknown, it is thought to be over 1050 years old. Not much information from that time as most long lived races, elves included, were living in the center of the known world, Kebould, and the written histories have been weathered and aged too much by time to gather anything of value. The most recent information comes a few years after the Thanatos Event occurred. Post Thanatos Event (PTE) Allegiances Form Following the tragedy of Keboulds destruction, Kensu was shaken. A smaller town at the time, it housed an estimated 500 residents and was known as a well sized outpost on the edge of the Kebould empire. As the empire collapsed and different factions vied for power, Kensu pledged allegiance to Crost seeking security from the nearest, biggest source of power and population. Crost in turn garnered the allegiance of the vast majority of the northern area of what is now known as Kebine's Spine. With the help of Kensu, Chist, smaller towns, and the natural resources and terrain advantages provided to the newly founded nation of Crost, the allegiance armed itself for war. ~30 years of back and forth between Crost and Kebine took place in the form of engagements on the border and claiming and ceding territory until all out war erupted between the two burgeoning nations. War with Kebine The war itself was waged for 10 years, with Kebine on the offensive, fighting against the Crost host at whatever opportunity they could garner. Kebine had the advantage both in population and technology, but Crost was a resilient group. A war of attrition, Kebine marched on inexorably but still too slowly. At the time, Kebine was fighting another war to the west as raiders based in the now Grados' Forest terrorized areas it had pledged to protect, as well as the tribes of Keth holding off any attempts to be governed. As a result of this, Kebine was being slowly leached of its strength and needed an edge to divisively and totally subjugate Crost. They sent an emissary to Kensu with offers of greater protection, greater technology, numbers, and more. Kensu, at first, stood fast against this claiming loyalty to Crost. Kebine upped the ante however. The emissary spoke of what would happen when Kebine won, as it looked likely at the time. The warriors of Kebine would kill, rape, and burn all those who had supported Crost. It would ensure nothing stood. They threatened, and they negotiated Kensu's betrayal of Crost. The leader of Kensu, frightened and won over with promises of wealth, set a plan into motion. To this day, Crost and Kensu have a feud. Kensu sent a regiment of soldiers to Crost, who were none the wiser. These soldiers then burnt the city down from the inside. Some from Kensu fought against it, tried to warn others but were silenced. The city was torn asunder by this treason, and an attack by Kebine at the same time. Life under Kebine The war had taken a lot out of all parties involved. Kebine left Kensu alone, save for a small regiment that converted the city to its rule. For the next 15 years, Kebine took care of its other battles and governances, paying minimal attention to Kensu, not even taxing the city as its hold was still fragile. Eventually though, Kebine did turn more of its attention to Kensu and did as they promised. Knowledge was shared, and the city was given new people, settlers to help it grow. This continued for the next 234 years, giving Kensu plenty of stability and time to grow. During this time, the 500 original population ballooned with the support and steady immigration from Kebine into an estimated 35,000 residents. In the year 289 PTE, 234 years after joining the Kebine empire, Kensu was raided by the Inquisition of Godthalanos. Cultists in Kensu The Inquistion 289 PTE, the leadership in Kensu, a theocracy almost exactly the same as Kebine's, was corrupted by cultists. The church of Godthalanos no longer held sway, instead the government, and many of the citizens had been converted to Gotiethi, a religion that focused on achieving the greater good, encouraging kindness, and being humble. The followers of Godthalanos immediately saw this rising movement as not just a threat to the theocracy that ruled the country, but a threat to the world itself. The Kebine believe the many religions of old shared in Kebould caused the Thanatos Event. Inquisitors were promptly dispatched to determine the level of heresy and the correct response. The Inquisition's leaders performed a thorough investigation and wrote a report back to the head theocracy asking to purge the heretics. Permission was granted, and the end result was almost all of the government and 15% of the citizens of Kensu were either reeducated or killed. Most were never seen again and were assumed to be killed. A rebellion forms Following the apparent kidnapping and murder of over 5,000 people, the Kensun were upset, to put it mildly. While the Inquisition put into place temporary rulers while attempting to cede power to the denizens of Kensu, the common people were organizing with the help of some prominent adventurers. Four month's after the Inquisition had shown up, two months since 5,000 people had been taken, the people of Kensu rose up and overthrew the Inquisitors holding the city. It was the first rebellion that Kebine had experienced in 166 years.With the help of the adventurers, a group of fighters who commonly went around murdering monsters and solving problems, the people took hold of the city, and closed the roads leading to Kebine. With this series of events in action, the city of Kensu and its surrounding rural areas held out from the Kebine empire for 2 and a half years before they were suppressed. They surrendered in exchange for all those taken via the Inquisition, whether they were corpses or alive, as well as light penalties in taxes and a standing military presence in the city for 10 years. City Structure TBD Politics TBD Religion TBD Economy TBD Demographics TBD Culture TBD Crime Kensu has a thriving black market of smugglers and thieves, as well as three primary criminal families. The Aced, The Ivers, and The Ois are responsible for the vast majority of crime, and those few criminals who do not belong to them are constantly risking being killed or caught by the guard or the families. The Aced Overview Easily the largest of the three criminal families, they are spread out throughout most of the city. They do not have very exclusive membership and instead choose quantity over quality. As a result, they are generally the cheapest, yet least reliable and effective, criminals that can be hired. As a whole, if its crime, the Aced will do it. Their number is unknown as it fluctuates so much, but common estimates put them anywhere between ~1000 and ~5000 people. Controlled Areas The Aced control the City Square, Docks, Northern Slums, Southern Slums, Trade, and Warehouse districts, peddling drugs, weapons, and services to the unscrupulous. Other districts are contested from them by either the Ois or the City Guard. Structure Organization The Aced are organized into many different gangs that all pay tribute to the actual Aced family. In exchange for this, relative peace is kept, the Aced all stay afloat with money, and the gangs don't get horribly murdered by the Aced. The gangs are encouraged to fight amongst themselves for more lucrative locations, jobs, and prestige. Recruitment The Aced recruit from orphans and the poor. With the orphans, they just straight up kidnap them. The poor are given favors, thereby incurring debt, or pressed into service of the Aced. Generally the only other option is being beaten or killed. Advancement The most general path to advance in the Aced organization is to join up with a strong gang, and survive until you have seniority. Whether this means killing those above you or keeping a low profile, it is a method that works. The other options are to do exceptionally well as a gang in terms of how much value you bring into the Aced's coffers, or to kill other gangs to gain more territory. Kill too many and the Aced have been known to crack down and put you in your place. The highest honor of advancing is being integrated into the Aced household itself. The other option of advancement is to be recruited into one of the other, more exclusive families. Leadership The Aced are led by the head of the Aced household, a mass murderer named Canvor Bolt. Not much is known about him, other than he murders a lot of people and has quite the bounty on his head. 10,000 gp. The Ivers Overview The Ivers are in charge of the more high end crime, whether this be fraud, blackmailing, subterfuge, or something else. They are considered to be the hardest to find, contact, or deal with due to how sneaky they are. Indeed, their numbers are unconfirmed but estimated at ~150 members. It is said that they abduct new recruits from wherever they find, and the recruit is never seen again. Controlled Areas unknown Leadership The Ivers are a secretive organization and very few details leak, except what they let leak. There are rumors that they are lead by "The Unseen", though no law enforcement officials have been able to figure out what that means. The Ois Overview The Ois are responsible for the darker side of crime. Mainly assassination, murder, kidnapping, and human trafficking. They are filled with cold blooded killers, people with no morals, lead by yet another cold blooded killer, Dich Bolt, the brother of Canvor Bolt. They are estimated at ~500 in number Controlled areas The Ois control the Grand Market, Industrial Mining and Quarry, and Specialty Shops districts. There they allow some petty criminals to operate while paying taxes to them. Structure Organization The Ois are structures into squads and solos. The head Ois is a solo named Dich Bolt. Other notable solos include TBD, TBD, and TBD. Adventurers have been known to fall into this organization, as well as rise from it, leading to quite a bit a tension. Recruitment The Ois keep a sharp lookout for anyone who seems to be particularly good at killing and will extend invitations as seen fit. Whether you are a guard, adventurer, monster, or criminal, they will invite you. Due to their decentralized nature, it has proven to be ineffective to infiltrate them to try to bring them down. Most attempts just end in the operative dead. Advancement Advancement in this organization is nonexistent. Of all the crime families, the Ois are the loosest governed, forming a government to distribute supplies and contracts but not much else. The only way to get more money is to have a good track record. The records are given out when asked for, successful jobs, how neat they were, and other useful information. This allows buyers to tailor their needs to the agent used. Leadership Dich Bolt leads all the rest through threat of murder or torture. Many have tried to kill him, his brother included, but as of yet none have succeeded. Dich leads this organizations loosely allowing for the killers to do what they want for the most part. Feud between Ois and Aced The Bolt brothers were orphans in the streets of Kensu. They grew up in the Aced organization as simple pickpockets, but later revealed their talent for absolutely beating the ever-living shit out of people. They naturally advanced to straight up murder and rose through the ranks quickly. This unfortunately changed when Dich formed the Ois, taking a lot of muscle from the Aced and killing more. They say that Canvor still bears scars from the fight. Why Dich left the Aced is unknown, but the brothers hate each other now and the two organizations are at odds, driven by the brothers antagonism. Notable People Ayla Enran Canvor & Dich Bolt Notable Buildings